National Treasure: Dictator's Diary
by BananaPieThiefX
Summary: Ian Howe hunts down the Poole family's oldest possession,a small stolen book containing military secrets, crowd control tactics, and worst of all, a design for a bomb that could start WWIII. Will Ben and Riley be able to stop him, or will Ian finally win?
1. 1944

**AN:** It's here! The sequel to page 47! This is going to be an extremely Rileycentered story. (So I know everyone is hooked now...) But anyway, the first chapter is a sort of prologue that takes place in the past and definately will help explain the plot a little bit. Even though no one said anything for or against it, my favorite OC ever, Riley's teenage sister Lexy, will appear as a main character in the story.

**Disclaimer: **Don't own National Treasure. I do have a Riley desktop background.

**Full Summary: **Ian Howe has to be the world's greatest criminal. But when he hunts down the Poole family's most prized treasure, a small book containing military secrets, crowd control tactics, and worst of all, a design for a bomb that could start WWIII, will Ben and Riley be able to stop him, or will Ian finally win?

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Germany, 1944

Dierck Reinhard burst through the door of his home. His face was red and covered in sweat, as though he had been running at top speed through his war torn German hometown. The sky lit itself up behind the door, which was swinging on its hinges, as a bomb exploded grandly a few streets away. The little girl, Klara, in her mother's arms waved her hand sleepily and muttered something about the "pretty lights". Ten year old Theodor in the corner ran to the door and shut it. The door rattled as it slammed into place. Then he looked up at his father expectantly. Dierck looked from one member of his family to the other. Finally he gasped out, "Wir müssen gehen!" _We must go._ He spoke some English, but couldn't seem to find the energy to use it on this night.

"Now?" asked his wife, Lisbeth as another explosion sounded. "Nien. No. We must get to the shelter!"

"Now!" said the man a bit too harshly. "Pack what you can! We leave in five minutes!" She went obediently off to another room to pack for her three year old daughter and ten year old son. As soon as she was gone, Dierck slumped down in a chair and pulled a leather bound book from under his coat. He turned it over in his hands. "What have I done," he muttered.

"Papa?" asked the boy, coming up next to him. "What's that?" The man looked up sharply. Then his eyes widened as though he was just realizing something.

"It is a book," he said. "Put it in your bag, tell no one you have it." He removed a teardrop shaped pendant from his neck. "And take this. It is the key to unlocking the book. Just press it into the hole here," he pointed to a spot on the cover of the book. "Now, go pack, and hurry!" The boy sped off without further explanation. The father sat there with his face in his hands. "What have I done?" he repeated.

_New York, Five Days Later_

They clutched their bags to them as they observed the new country. Their new lives. A man stood there, tapping a pencil against a clipboard. "Where'd you come from?" he asked. Stupid question. The ship's only stop had been Germany. But Dierck answered dutifully. The boy's thoughts were back on the book. Why they had to leave. The reason had been simple, a short bit of writing on the books inside cover. _Military Strategies, Weapon Plans, Daily Accounts. Adolf Hitler- 1939._ The very words put heir family in danger and the boy knew it.

"What's your name?" The annoying man with the clipboard continued his interrogation of the head of the family.

"Dierck." He said confidently.

"Last name _please,_" ordered the man.

"Deirck…" he thought quickly, using the first name that came to mind, it was on he had heard being called to a toddler on the street while they left. And it would protect them from Germany's Führer, Hitler. "Dierck Poole."

"All right, Derek Poole." He wrote it on the sheet, handed it to them and waved them ahead. Dierck sighed with relief and looked at the sheet. Next to 'Head of Family' was Derek Poole. Their new life had begun.

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**AN: **Hope you enjoyed! The next chapter will have the normal National Treasure characters in it and will definitely develop the plot more. Review please!


	2. First Encounters

**AN: **Yeah! Two stories updated in one day! I'm on a roll! Lexy comes in in this chapter, the plot advances a bit, and there's some serious rage and a very big branch. I won't be able to update for a while because I'm ging on vacation, but don't worry, it's only about three days!

**Disclaimer: **I still don't own National Treasure! Bet you weren't expecting that!

"Hah! Write a report about something interesting in history! No problem for you and me, right?" A girl with short brown hair and sparkling green eyes named Morgan propelled her skateboard down the sidewalk. "Lexy, as long as the Templar Treasure and the City of Gold count we've got it made!"

The girl she was addressing grinned widely. "You can say that again. And conspiracy theories. My brother never shuts up about those."

"Ah yes, but I'm not entirely sure old Mr. Twitt (yes, their teacher's name was Mr. Timothy Twitt) would consider that," she cleared her throat and in an imitation of their stuffy old history teacher's British-Irish accent continued, "'appropriate subject matter'. I swear he was on the committee that investigated JFK's assanation, and he probably already had his grey hair."

"Yeah, he's a total nutcase. At least the subject matter's interesting, though. I like current events best."

"Only because you were all over the news when you guys found the treasure under Trinity Church," she pointed out. "You have 25 million in the bank and you're still unpopular. It's unbelievable." They glided along for a moment in silence, when a dark shadow stepped out from behind a building, walked around the corner, and stood with its back to the girls. No, Lexy corrected herself. Not a shadow, just a sinister looking man wearing a black coat. They got closer and closer to the man and finally the skateboards came to a halt about three feet from him. Lexy stepped off hers. She put her foot down on the edge and it flew into her hand. Morgan stood on one foot, nervously moving hers back and forth with the other. The man turned around and ran his fingers through his long blonde hair. He smiled.

"Hello Lexy. It's been too long."

"Ian…" she said, stunned. She had known it was him, but this was all too real now that he had revealed himself. Morgan tugged on her sleeve and they exchanged glances. Lexy looked away, for any possible escape. She glanced over Ian's shoulder and saw a large limb lying on the ground. How convenient. "So, uh, Morgan, like I was saying, we need to practice that scene, you know for the school play," she improvised quickly. "The one where your character uses the staff of power," here her eyes flickered from Morgan to the limb, and her friend's gaze followed. "In order to save my character from ah, certain doom at the hands of the evil sorcerer, as I believe it said in the script."

"Right," Morgan nodded, catching on. "I think tonight would be the perfect time to practice it."

"You know without that scene, the play would probably never work. It's very important that we get it exactly right."

"What are you two babbling about?" demanded Ian.

"Nothing," the girls said together.

"I'll go ahead, meet me at your house okay?" said Morgan.

"Yeah. And if my mom starts to freak out over me being gone, call Riley, he can usually talk some sense into her before she goes running to the police over nothing." Lexy said. It would be _very_ bad if the police were involved. They all knew that from experience.

"See you," said Morgan. She boarded around the corner, picked up the limb and waited for anything that could be interpreted as a signal.

"Who was that?" asked Ian, stepping closer.

"My friend Morgan. So what do you want? Because if it's directions back to prison, I'd be happy to oblige." Lexy offered.

"Very funny. No, what I want is for you to come with me, and to do so quietly and without sarcastic comments," Ian ordered dangerously.

Lexy smirked, "I'm afraid I am disinclined to acquiesce to your request."

"What?" growled Ian.

The teenager rolled her eyes. "It means no," she said.

"I know what it means!" Ian said. "This is the first time anyone has chosen to defy me, and I suggest you don't make a habit of it."

Lexy shrugged. "There's a first time for everything."

"Yes, of course. A first time for someone to escape maximum security prison twice, a first time for you to experience being kidnapped, a first time for you and your stupid brother to listen to me," Lexy's face grew red. _No one_ insulted her family. Ian continued without noticing. "And, if need be, the first time for me to fire at a child." He tapped his ever present gun. Why did they always have to have guns? Stupid right to bear arms.

"Are you already forgetting our wonderful little interaction in the pit under Trinity Church?" she said darkly.

"No, actually. I found out how that went later. A mutual friend told me. I would say better than I expected, but it worked out exactly as I expected." He said with a knowing smile.

Okay, now Lexy was ticked off. "You knew?" she spat the question. God, she hated him.

"I figured as much. I didn't think Riley would just stand by and let you get shot. It would be another first time. The first time he didn't try to take the hits for someone else. He's useless as anything but a self sacrificing human shield, a bargaining chip and my key to Hitler's diary."

Lexy's hands became fists. But she forced herself to relax so the plan would work. She kept her face straight at the mention of the diary, pretending it didn't exist. "You know what else there's a first time for?" she asked. That backstabbing lowlife pathetic waste. He'd get what was coming to him. "A heartless, traitorous, gun-crazy criminal being defeated by a couple of fourteen year olds."

"Oh really?" he said disbelievingly. "And when is that going to happen?"

"Right… about… NOW!" Morgan jumped from around the corner and whacked Ian with the branch, which snapped under the impact, but hit extremely hard. Lexy, still holding her skateboard, darted around him as her started towards her. "Run," she breathed. The two girls ran about a hundred feet then switched to their skateboards. The last thing Ian heard before he lost consciousness was that girl Morgan's voice.

"He was cuter on FBI's most wanted."

**AN: **Yeah, it was cool, right? Even though I sort of gave away the ending to a story I haven't finished... But it was nessecary to the conversation, so I had to.


	3. Surprises For All

**AN: **Hah, a long update! And a surprise later in the chapter! Enjoy!

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The red capped Travelocity gnome was plummeting head first off the brown stone cliff. "You think he was pushed?" asked Lexy boredly. She flipped her lucky silver dollar coin into the air over and over. It was her nervous habit, as well as what she did whenever she had nothing else to do.

Riley chuckled. "Yeah, by people who like Expedia better," he said, smirking.

"Riley Poole are you _still_ watching TV?" asked Sabrina, sounding more disappointed than upset. She had just walked through the door or the brand new house carrying some shopping bags, another portion of her 75 million well spent.

"Yeah, he is," was the response she got.

"Did Lexy tell you to?" demanded Sabrina.

"Uh no…, why would she?" asked a very confused Riley. He flipped to the TV guide channel on his sixty inch screen. A portion of _his_ 75 million even better spent in Lexy's opinion. "All right! There's a show about the discovery of the Templar Treasure on the History Channel! My interview was the best." He heard a sigh behind him and watched with amusement as an irritated Sabrina handed Lexy twenty dollars. Lexy cleared her throat as Riley flipped to the history channel and became absorbed in watching himself, along with Ben, Abigail and Lexy being interviewed. She collected another thirty dollars.

"Betting on Riley's habits is always rewarding," she said. "He just loves staring at his big head on the gargantuan screen."

"Better than looking at yours!" he retorted.

"Oh, grow up you two," joked Sabrina, sitting on the couch between the brother and sister. She confiscated the remote and shut off the TV. "Lexy, you had something to tell us when I got back?"

The teenager sighed. "Yeah. Okay. Yesterday, my best friend Morgan and I were skateboarding around town and we saw someone." She stopped and took a deep breath. The foreboding from her tone hung in the air. "Someone, who I hoped I'd never see again, other than the sixty-five year old guy with the Mohawk and leather jacket who had wrinkles on his wrinkles. _That _was scary. Anyway, we saw… we saw Ian." She looked up at Riley, whose eyes were wide with fear. She'd never seen him this afraid before and she didn't like it.

"You're both fine right, I mean he didn't hurt you?" asked Riley concerned. "What did he want?"

"No we're fine, Morgan hit him over the head with a branch, I think he was unconscious, and we ran after that." Lexy's hand flew subconsciously to the multicolored teardrop shaped stone around her neck as she spoke the next sentence. "He's after the diary."

"Oh no…" breathed Riley.

"Wait, what diary?" asked Sabrina.

--

_New York City, 1964_

Derek Poole lay dying in his bed. A boy stood by his bedside along with his father. "Grandpa?" he said. "Are you going to heaven?" Derek looked into his grandson's eyes.

"I hope so David," he said smiling. The boy smiled, looking very relieved that his grandfather would be happy after he passed on.

"I'll miss you grandpa," he whispered. Then he hugged the dying old man and left the room. Theodor stayed behind.

"Klara should be here in an hour," he informed. His father nodded.

"I wish I'd had more time to spend with David," he sighed. Then he looked at his son. "Do you have it?" he asked softly.

"I've kept it all these years, the book and the necklace," Theodor removed the items in question from inside his coat pocket and laid them on the table.

"Good, good." The old man nodded his approval. "Give it to your son on his twenty-first birthday, and tell him what it is, how it almost cost us the war. He'll understand then. It must be kept safe; you never know who might find out, and what they might cause if they get it."

"A third world war, among other things," said Theodor solemnly, "and then there's the treasure."

His father nodded. "The treasure." Then he rolled over and fell asleep. Theodor got up to leave the room, took one last look at his sleeping father, and turned off the light.

--

_Washington D.C, Present day_

"How many lost treasures can there be? And a bomb? If Ian gets this book…" Sabrina trailed off, she didn't need to say more. The silence was like a threat itself.

"We should talk to Ben," suggested Lexy. "He should know, especially with another treasure involved."

"You're right," the color was coming back to Riley's face now, after draining at hearing Ian's name. Ian Howe had almost killed him, and there was no doubt he'd love another chance. As Riley's hand hovered over the phone, it suddenly rang. The caller ID was Ben's cell. Everyone paled, recalling how Ian had first called Ben from Riley's phone. They waited fearfully until Riley finally picked up. "He-Hello?" he said hesitantly.

"Riley! You sound like you've seen a ghost!" Ben's voice flooded his friends thankful ears.

"Ben there's something I need to-"

"No time, you have to hear this!" Ben said excitedly.

"No Ben this is serious, yesterday Lexy saw-"

"Riley seriously, you won't believe this," Ben cut him off.

"_I'm_ supposed to be the annoying interrupter!" interrupted Riley.

"You need to meet me at the hospital as soon as you can!"

"Hospital? What's wrong Ben? Ben!?" Riley pleaded urgently.

"Nothings wrong," Ben sounded fairly ecstatic when he finally blurted out, "The baby's coming!"

"What?" demanded Riley. But there was only silence, and then a faint dial tone. Riley hung up.

"This is bad," he breathed. "This is very bad. Oh, I hope Ian didn't tap our phones."

"What?" asked Sabrina. "What happened? Are they hurt?"

Riley shook his head slowly. "The baby's coming," he echoed.

They left within five minutes. They all piled into Riley's new Ferrari, which was blue, from Lexy's insistence that blue was a luckier color than red. So they drove over to the hospital just as fast they could, not only to deliver the news about Ian to Ben, but to see the new baby.

It was two hours later when they were finally able to go in.

Riley looked at the baby in Abigail's arms. Then he looked at Ben. Ben smiled. "Amelia Gates," he said.

"Poor kid, having a middle name like Earheart," commented Lexy, shaking her head and making a face.

"But how did you…" started Abigail.

The teenager raised her eyebrows. "Another history person. It was kind of obvious."

Ben grinned. "Yes. And I'm sure if there's any more treasure out there, she'll be the one to find it," Riley and Lexy exchanged glances. "Of course she'll need a little help from her father."

Riley smirked. ""And her Uncle Riley," he corrected. "You should know that."

"The first generation of the Gates family to grow up respected by the historical community. A very historic moment if you ask me," noted Lexy, staring at the child. _If she lives that long,_ she thought, seeing Ian's face in her head. "Ben, can Riley, Sabrina and I talk to you for a second? Outside?"

"Sure…" said Ben, and nodding at Abigail, he accompanied them out into the hallway.

"Hey Ben, you want to know something interesting about history?" asked Lexy grimly.

"Does it have anything to do with the fact that April 14 is cursed? Because I _know_ that Lincoln was assassinated on that day in 1865, and died the next morning, and that the Titanic struck the iceberg that night in 1912 and sunk the next morning." It was something Lexy had been talking about since she figured it out a few weeks ago.

"_No_ it's not that. Did you know that one of the most famous historical 'bad guys' for want of a better word, kept a diary?" Between the three of them, Riley Lexy and Sabrina got the rest of the story out. Ben looked from one to the other and then took a deep breath.

"Guys, I think we're in a little trouble."

"A little?" asked Riley, raising an eyebrow.

"So how are you guys going to break it to Abigail?" asked Lexy.

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**AN: **Please review!!


	4. What?

**AN: **Enjoy... or not... Just please review either way. Pretty please :)

She was giving them a look. _The_ look. The one that even Ben couldn't receive without completely explaining himself. Really, they were very lucky that Abigail was supposed to stay in bed. Lexy was in the corner, pretending to be completely engrossed in a book, while Sabrina Riley and Ben were faltering under Abigail's gaze.

"Why did you never tell us about this before Riley?" she demanded. "Do you have any idea how important-"

Riley did just about the most dangerous thing he could. He interrupted her. "Yeah, well, it never really came up in conversation did it? And oh yeah, I was certainly going to bring it up 'Hey guys, just so you know, Hitler and the German rocket scientists conspired together to create something more powerful than the atom bomb and we would've lost the war if my great grandfather didn't steal the plans. By the way there's another lost to the ages treasure involved to in case you're interested.' Come on Abigail, you probably would've murdered me on the spot for bringing up another treasure." Riley pointed out. "Of course, you wouldn't have murdered_ Ben _though," He added cheekily. Abigail continued to glare at him. "Besides, it's not entirely my fault. _If_ you guys had read my book, then you would know it existed, I didn't mention the bomb in there," he responded to everyone's horrified looks. "But I, uh did mention the treasure," he said uncomfortably.

"So why are you telling me now?" Riley looked at Ben, who looked equally confused, and realized that in their rush to inform Ben and Abigail, they hadn't said specifically _who_ was after the book.

"You don't know who's after it do you," Lexy spoke up. Ben and Abigail looked at her. "Ian," she said. "Ian Howe is after the diary."

Ben groaned and Abigail's eyes widened. "There's only one problem," said Sabrina. "Ian was checked on the day after he attempted to kidnap Lexy and he was still in prison."

"He tried to what?" asked Ben distractedly, looking from his child to Lexy.

"We are so dead," murmured the teenager.

"So where is the diary?" asked Abigail.

"That's the problem, it's hidden by a series of clues," explained Riley.

"Not again," groaned Sabrina.

Ben looked up. "Clues. Great. Wonderful. I'll be right on it," he said without conviction, and collapsed into a chair next to Lexy's.

--

"Well? Do you have it?"

"No."

"Do you have the girl, then?" the man leaned forward in his chair. He was about sixty or so, but he looked ten years younger. He had his full head dark brown hair and hazel eyes that flashed when he was angry. He didn't have a beard, but he had a small moustache. The man's name was Eric Frieder, both of which meaning 'ruler' which was extremely accurate. He had an air of power about him, inherited from his father. The father who's surname he did not use in order to avoid questions.

Ian shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "Not exactly."

"What happened?"

"I'd rather not say…"

Eric shook his head. "A technicality. We must continue with plan B. And you will _not_ fail me this time. Remember if it wasn't for me you would still be in prison, and your worthless brother would be on the outside. Do you want that to happen again?" Ian shook his head furiously. "Good. You may go." Ian got up and left. He had a plan to set up.

--

_Washington D.C, One week later_

Lexy threw her suitcase in the back of the van and climbed in herself. She waved out the window to Riley as they pulled away. "Thanks for letting me stay the weekend at Riley's again," she said. Her mom smiled.

"It gives us peace and quiet," she said. Her dad nodded. They drove in silence for a while, except for the radio. Lexy looked out the window.

"Huh, that's funny, it doesn't look like that car has a driver," she pointed out a black SUV that was indeed, driverless. Without warning, it came speeding towards their car from the side and slammed into the front. The last thing Lexy remembered was something hitting her head, and seeing the silhouette of a man through the window, and then she blacked out.

--

At the same time, Ian was waiting outside Riley's house. He knocked on the door, and Riley opened it, looking down at some fiction novel.

"Here's you book Lexy, I-" He looked up slowly. "Ian?"

"Did you miss me Riley?"

"No, I can't say I did," he said, backing up.

Ian slammed the door behind him. "Give me the book Riley."

"I don't have it."

"Where is it?" Ian growled.

Riley shrugged. "Hidden."

"Stop playing games with me, Riley. Hand it over, now." He raised a gun.

"I don't have it," said Riley angrily. "And even if I did I wouldn't give it to you." _Why do they _always_ have guns?!_, he thought.

"Then you're really of no further use to me are you?" Ian pulled the trigger, the shot rang out through the house. Ian looked down at Riley on the floor, who moaned in pain. He stepped away from the blood puddle surrounding the young treasure hunter. _What have I done?,_ he thought. Ian turned and ran then. There was nothing else he could do.

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**AN: **Erm... please please don't kill me. Please? Without an author there's no story, remember? Will everyone's favorite character and his family survive? well, you have to review to find out now don't you?


	5. Discovery

**AN:** This story isn't nearly as popular as the first one. Oh well. I like it.

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Lexy came back to consciousness without opening her eyes. She was in bed. So it had all been a dream. A horrible, horrible dream. She reached over with her eyes still closed, to turn on her I-home stereo. But there was nothing there. She moved her had back and forth a few times to make sure. Yep, only air. She cracked open one eye and light felt like it burned. She closed her eye quickly. Who on _Earth_ left the lights on in a room where someone was sleeping? And speaking of which, _where_ was she sleeping. She cautiously opened her eyes and rubbed them. Well, it wasn't a hospital. It looked like a mother-in-law's suite, two rooms, connected. One had a bed, a dresser and a nightstand, the other was furnished with a TV, a bookshelf and a futon. It looked like a typical teenager's room. And Lexy wondered why she was there. She noticed her messenger bag was still slung across her shoulder. Lexy sat up and rubbed her bruised arm. So there had been a crash. "Hello?" she called out. She waited a little while. "Hello!?" she tried again. "Whatever," she muttered to herself.

Just then the door flew open. "Oh," murmured Lexy. "Hello there," she said.

Ian sneered. "What do you want?"

"What do I want? I was just knocked out in a car accident, which I'm assuming was caused by a radio controlled car controlled by you. I'm now in a room I've never seen before, I have no clue what happened to my parents, and you probably took my computer!" She looked in her bag. "You didn't take my computer?"

"I saw no reason to. This room has been specially equipped for you. No cable or wireless devices, phones, laptops, cable TV, even that wirless connection thing on the Nintendo DS, will work unless you have a transmitter within about five or six feet of the room, which you don't." He smirked at her. "By the way, congratulations about realizing the radio control car factor. You've no idea how challenging that was. As for your parents, I don't know what happened to them. But I'm sure you're genius fried Ben will figure it out and call, demanding to talk to you, and tell me what happened. I assume he'll be fairly upset."

"Why would Ben be calling?"

"Excuse me?"

"Why not Riley?" she demanded. Ian grimaced. This girl was too smart for her own good.

"Because Ben will be the one calling, I'm almost certain of it," he said dismissively. But Lexy could sense something was wrong. Unnoticed to Ian, she slipped something in her large pocket.

"Can I go to the bathroom?"

"Is that really necessary?"

She looked at her watch. "Well, considering I've been unconscious for nearly… eight hours and I had a coke before I left, yes, yes it is." Ian rolled his eyes.

"Fine, get up." She shrugged off her bag and got out of bed. Just as she suspected, Ian led her about two feet down a hallway. Lexy opened the door and went in. She actually did, have to go to the bathroom, but first, she had something to do. She pulled the wireless transmitter from her pocket and shoved it to the back corner of the cabinet. Now she had internet. And cable. And a phone. Cool. When she was done she left the bathroom and went back to the room. She had a lot to figure out.

--

_Seven and a half hours earlier…_

"Riley?" Ben knocked on Riley's door, nervously. He had called Riley at least three or four times and he hadn't answered. "Riley open up!" Ben rolled his eyes and sighed. "Riley, Abi's not with me!" Ben called. He shook his head and pulled a key out of his pocket. He jammed it in the lock and turned. "Come on Riley, I know we haven't talked in a week, it's not that we don't want to believe you, but Ian is in jail, and he'd probably have made his move by now. And I've been busy believe it or not." Ben pushed open the door, but it was dark, which was weird, since Riley's car was out front, he should've been home. Maybe he was just watching a movie. Ben flipped on the lights and screamed. His voice sounded inhuman even to him as he flung himself towards his pale friend lying on the ground.

"Riley! RILEY!" he shouted. "I'm sorry, if I had believed you…" Ben shook himself. He pulled out his phone and called 911. "Yes, hello, my friend, he's been shot…I don't know, I found him here, please hurry," Ben gave them the address and hung up. He looked at the book in Riley's hand, it was one of Lexy's, _Castaways of the Flying Dutchman_. Lexy. Suddenly the smashed up car he saw being towed on the way over here looked very familiar. Not a good sign. "Hold on, Riley," he said. He put a hand to his friend's chest. Riley was still breathing. That was good. Suddenly, Ben recalled Riley taking in his sleep the day before they had found the Charlotte.

"Giant Refrigerator, big teeth, ate Ian…" he had muttered, Ben remembered it perfectly. Despite the freezing cold, the seemingly fruitless quest and Ian's threat to remove the funding if they didn't find the thing soon, Ben had chuckled at his younger friend. Ian however, didn't find it very funny. Go Figure.

"Come on Riley, stay with me, no one else can make me laugh like you can," Ben begged, his mind snapping back to the present. He heard a car door slam and looked outside. Sabrina, getting home from work.

She ran up to the door. "Ben, what's… wrong," she trailed off, staring at Riley. "No," she whispered. "It was Ian, wasn't it?" Ben only nodded.

The sirens flashed outside. Medical personnel rushed in and carried Riley off on a stretcher. Ben's eyes followed him, out the door, down the stairs, into the ambulance.

"One of you can go with him." The man in charge said. Ben and Sabrina exchanged glances.

"Go," they said at the same time.

"No way," said Sabrina. She pushed him forward. "Go with him. He needs you. I'll break it to Abigail."

Ben nodded. "Okay," he said. Sabrina watched alone on the driveway as the ambulance pulled away.

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**AN: **Review!! I left you in suspense. Riley may die, he may not, but one main character will probably die before this story's over


	6. Revealations

**AN: **Sorry it took at least a month to update. I got writers block, then there were exams and Beta convention and everything got chaotic, but I'm back, the chapter is short , but hopefully you will all like it.

Abigail and Sabrina burst into the hospital lobby two hours later with red faces as if they had run a marathon. Abigail muttered something quite rude about the hospital parking. Sabrina ran up to the desk.

"Please, ma'am, can you tell us where to find Mr. Riley Poole?" she asked the lady. The woman was about thirty five with red hair. She looked up from the magazine she was reading.

"Poole, yeah sure, he was in that car, right?"

Abigail and Sabrina exchanged glances. "What car?" asked Abigail cautiously.

"You don't know about the car accident?" She whistled. "It's a bad day for the Poole family then, isn't it?"

"Will you tell us about it?" inquired Sabrina.

"Hey Linda! These folks didn't here about that odd accident, the one where the driver of one of the cars disappeared. And the man they pulled out of the debris who was muttering about some kind of a driverless SUV. Can you believe it?"

Sabrina looked at Abigail. "Ian," she whispered. Abigail nodded.

"Can you tell us where to find Riley's room?" she said.

"Yeah sure, Linda'll take you up, room 313."

"_Thank you_," gasped Sabrina. The nurse led them to the elevator. They went up to the third floor and got out, leaving the lady behind to go on to the fifth.

Abigail and Sabrina walked slowly down the hall. They stopped at the corner, afraid to turn. "He'll be all right," said Abigail quietly. Sabrina nodded. They turned the corner and saw Ben pacing outside room 313.

"Ben!" cried Abigail, running up to him and hugging him. "Ben, is he alright?"

"I-I don't know, they won't let me in," Ben said. "He was still breathing when they brought him in though." The sentence hung in the air. A young man walked out of the room without warning.

"Oh," he said, surprised. "Who are you?"

"How is he?" Sabrina asked, ignoring him.

"Will he be okay?" said Abigail, pushing past him.

"I suppose you're Ben and Abigail Gates, I'm Jack Beckman, and I'd ask how you are, but I'm not sure I want to hear the answer." He paused. "I have good news and bad. Riley will live; he is an extremely lucky man. The bullet missed any vital organs or arteries. He lost a lot of blood, but he will recover fully. It won't be long before he regains consciousness."

Abigail and Sabrina had already run into the room to see Riley. Ben pulled the doctor aside. "What's the bad news?"

"It's not for you as much as for Riley."

"And?"

"His parents have been in a horrible car accident. His mother was killed instantly; his father is still in a coma. I'm sorry, Ben."

Ben took a deep breath. "What about his sister?"

The doctor looked bemused. "What sister?"

Just then, Ben's phone rang. He looked at it and checked the number, he didn't recognize it. He waited painfully for a message, hoping, hoping it was some salesperson.

The ringing stopped, there was one new voicemail. Trembling, Ben pressed one and held the phone to his ear. He heard only two words, in a voice he would recognize anywhere.

"Hello, Ben." That was it; the line went dead, replaced by the false sounding voice.

"If you would like to save this message please press 7. If you wish to delete this message, press 2. For more options…" Ben shut the phone.

"Dr. Beckman…"

"Please, call me Jack."

"Jack, then," said Ben. "I want you to keep a close eye on Riley. Don't let anyone see him without me or the two people you just saw. I don't care what he says, but try to watch out for him, he hates being babied, but I think he'll understand under the circumstances."

Jack nodded. "You're worried they might come back." Ben looked at the doctor, confusion written on his face. "You're afraid Riley's would-be killers will find out he's alive and finish the job." Jack put a hand on Ben's shoulder. "I'll make sure he's safe," he promised.

"Thank you," Ben said. He then took out his phone and dialed his parents.

"Ben?" asked his mother. The sadness was obvious in her voice, as though she had been crying before she picked up the phone.

"Mom! He's going to be alright! He's going to make it!" cried Ben. He heard loud crying in the background and realized that Abigail must have left Amelia with his parents.

"Mom, let me get home and take care of…"

"Don't you dare think about it Ben! I want you to be there when Riley wakes up?" demanded his mom.

"Yes, but…"

"But nothing! I _can _take care of a child you know, even if it's not for a very long time." Her voice was gone.

Ben stared at the phone in disbelief. "My mom hung up on me!" he marveled. The man grinned.

"Let's go check on your friend," he suggested. Ben nodded. He walked through the door with only one thought in his head. Riley would be okay.


End file.
